Will veto any Bill for more Iran sanctions, Obama tells lawmakers

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama reiterated on Tuesday that he would veto any effort by lawmakers to increase sanctions on Iran while the United States and other Western powers were in diplomatic talks with Tehran over its nuclear program.

"The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible," Obama said, according to the text of his State of the Union address, referring to diplomatic talks.

"But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it. For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed," he said.

Obama also said he would continue to work to reduce violence in the United States despite a lack of support in Congress for gun control measures he failed to get passed last year.

"I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over this country who say 'we are not afraid,' and I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools," Obama said, according to the text of his State of the Union address.